Tchenguiz close to finalising offer for M&B pubs
Robert Tchenguiz's R20 investment vehicle is putting the finishing touches on a £2.6b bid for Mitchells & Butlers, the owner of the All Bar One chain of bars and Harvester restaurants. The Iranian-born entrepreneur is expected to put in a bid of between 500p and 550p per share in the next 10 days. - Sunday Telegraph, 2 April

Clapham House wins race to by Tootsies burger chain
David Page's Clapham House restaurant group is to buy up a fourth chain after beating off competition from his former PizzaExpress colleague Luke Johnson to acquire the Tootsies burger chain for £25.3m. – The Independent, 1 April

Enterprise Inns upbeat on trading performance

Enterprise Inns, the tenanted pub operator, said that it was trading strongly, despite weak consumer spending, higher costs and greater legislative pressure on its licensees. – The Times, 1 April.

Trump threatens to pull out of £300m golf resort plan
Multi-billionaire tycoon Donald Trump was last night heading for a showdown with environmental campaigners over £300m plans for a world-class golf resort near Aberdeen. Trump has warned his championship course, five-star hotel, golf academy and 500 holiday homes would be scrapped unless proposals for a nearby offshore wind farm were abandoned. – The Scotsman, 1 April

Pubs to be fined for cigarette litter outside the door
Publicans who allow cigarette ends to accumulate outside their premises in Scotland face fines. Despite the provision of cigarette bins on the outside walls of many bars and restaurants ahead of the ban, some areas have already become heavily littered with cigarette ends. – Sunday Times (Scottish edition), 2 April.

Blackstone ready to bid for De Vere Group
Blackstone, the American private-equity giant, is finalising a takeover offer for De Vere that will value the operator of the Belfry golf course at more than £700m. Sources familiar with the situation said Blackstone was likely to table a bid before the end of this week. – Sunday Times, 2 April

Blackstone ready to bid for Hard Rock Café
US private equity group Blackstone is near to making a £1.4bn offer for UK leisure group Rank, which owns the Hard Rock Café and the Mecca bingo brands. – The Business, 2 April 

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